OC Blog

Blackout At OUSD

Metro Talk, one of myriad e-mail newsletters published by Orange Net News, arrived in my in-box today with a revealing news item about the Orange Unified School District Board of Trustees (emphases in the original):

Metro Talk Commentary: $8000 Too Much for Democracy?
At the February 24th  OUSD Board meeting the Trustees voted to stop taping their Board meetings next year as a budget cut. The tapings have been rebroadcast over OUSD Cable Channel 95. Perhaps critical gadflies, a new Trustee in dark glasses, overflowing Board meetings full of angry citizens, and citizen criticisms broadcast over local cable have been too much democracy for the Citizen’s Board. While the Board voted this month to spend $7,500 to send five administrative staff members to a convention in Las Vegas for a weekend, and paid $4000.00 to a consultant for six hours of work, $8,000 for a year to educate the community on school board happenings, a reform this Board majority originally instituted, now seem too high a price to pay for a Board that claims educational priorities.

That pretty much says it all. The union-dominated OUSD Board would rather spend $7,500 for a weekend in Vegas for five employees, than fund a service that allows voters to watch the Board of Trustees in action.

Or perhaps that is precisely the point. My cynical belief is the OUSD Board -- which has already displayed (and been judicially punished for) a penchant for secrec is cynically employing the thin veil of "budgetary necessity" to scrap televised coverage of their meetings. Who do they think they are kidding?

If anyone wants to drop the OUSD Board of Trustees a line about this action, I'll make it easy:

Board President Kathy Moffat
Vice President Kim Nichols
Board Clerk Rick Ledesma
Trustee John Ortega
Trustee Wes Poutsma
Trustee Melissa Smith
Trustee Steve Rocco

OCTA's Now Doing Healthcare

Unbelievably, today's OCTA Board Meeting spent 80% of its time, over an hour, discussing healthcare benefits for 20 janitors employed by a contractor which cleans the Transit Palace in Orange.  Speaking for his "neighbors and friends," Supervisor Lou Correa lectured the Board and the bored (audience) on the cost of healthcare, hospital stays and ER visits.  The issue was a re-visitation of an already executed agreement with a maintenance firm which, in Lou's opinion, is screwing its staff with a crappy healthcare plan (e.g. $1500 deductibles).  He supported INCREASING the cost of the Agreement by $72k to increase these non-OCTA employees' benefits, or by $166k (there were two options) to cover the janitors' families.  What a guy.

The agreement itself is worth $700k, and since I wasn't educated by the underfunded and oversexed OUSD, that figures to a $35,000 annual cost for a janitor -- the firm's name is Diamond Contract Services and that's a pretty good deal for pushing a broom.  No wonder Lou's concerned about his constituents -- and their future support.

The grand question here is when did the OCTA get into the social engineering business, and out of the bus, train and pavement business (since none of THAT came up in the meeting)?  Correa was using his Board position to push social issues that, it seemed to him, were another Anglo slap on his poor, oppressed ethnic base.  What he really wanted, he said, was to use this business as a "test case" to evaluate other vendors with which OCTA does business to "evaluate their savings plans", benefits and other issues.  How does this make a bus run on time?  What business does the OCTA have in their vendors' businesses if they're operating legally and within boundaries set in the Authority's RFPs?  If they're so concerned with these janitors' benefits, why aren't they OCTA employees?  Since they're not (which makes perfect sense since all government work can be competitively outsourced to the private sector), then BUTT OUT and get back to building car pool lanes that 90% of us can't use.

To its credit, the Board voted to let the janitorial agreement stand without intervention or further prying into the company's benefits practices.  The vote, however, was only 9 to 7 (Richard Dixon, who owns a health insurance business and might have provided some valuable input, was absent), so we'll question the motivation of the others too -- especially Cathy Green of the Huntington Beach City Council who made an absolute fool of herself in defending Correa's positions and implying that Orange County provides no hospital care to the disadvantaged since it has no hospitals.  Her other remarks were incomprehensible.

Sad Sad Man of the week award

Senator John Campbell gets the Sad Sad Man of the week award for using his influence with the Govanator to kill the appointment of former Assemblyman Ken Maddox to the state narcotics parole board or something like that...as seen in the OC Register on Sunday.

Maddox (a reserve cop and former full time peace officer and national guard reservist) a perfect fit for the post, unlike so many other people that get cherry appointments.

But the real reason Campbell gets the award: he used his influence to knock Ken when he is down and for what?  There are only so many times you can ask for a favor, did he really put Maddox down when he could have brought $10 million to OC schools or $50 million for the Back Bay or gotten legislation that would have curbed spending on any number of programs or??? 

What a sad day it is for for public policy when a state senator asks for five minutes with the Govanator and instead of bringing home the bacon or pushing a conservative agenda item--he pisses on the guy he just beat who is out of a job.

You sad sad man John.

OC Blog Daily News Roundup -- Feb. 26-28, 2005

All the top stories from behind the Orange Curtain this beautiful weekend:

DeVore Funding At Issue In Heat Of Battle -- OCR, 2/28/05
The environuts are attempting to slime DeVore to kill his El Morro bills. I'm still undecided about the wisdom of his legislation, but I don't believe campaign donations have anything to do with it.

The Buzz: GOP Linked Arms Against Spitzer -- OCR, 2/28/05
Follow-up story to Spitzer's exit from D.A. race.

Modjeska House A Retreat For All -- LAT, 2/28/05
Excellent Jean Pasco article on OC history.

Environuts Sue To Stop Development on Dana Point Headlands -- LAT, 2/28/05
The greenies resort to their favorite tactic to prevent the building of homes.

Steve Greenhut: House of Cards -- OCR, 2/27/05
Greenhut on eminent domain and the clueless courts.

Chris Reed: Maddening Man - The Todd Spitzer Story -- OCR, 2/27/05
Reed gives the Unspin on Spitzer's reason for dropping out.

Lawmaker's El Morro Bills Follow Gifts -- LAT, 2/27/05
Greenies try to slime Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.

Mobile Home Park Residents Last Stand -- OCR, 2/27/05
I sympathize with these folks, but a lawsuit is just wrong. When you rent, rather than own, the dirt your house is on, you implicitly accept the risk that the land owner may decide to use his proerty for something beside a trailer park.

Gordon Dillow: Ending Jail Segregation A Dangerous Decision -- OCR, 2/27/05
Dillo takes apart the U.S. Supreme Court moronic decision on prison segregation.

Que Pasa?

Check out this terrific piece by Jill Stewart on the success of the English language immersion for students -  English-immersion foes hold children back - and figure the predictable Union opposition to it when 5,000+ bi-lingual teachers lose their bonuses.

Loretta Steps In It - Again

Loretta Sanchez, our fashion-challenged Representative from the 47th made Rush Limbaugh's program last Thursday with a great example of lack of preparation and just plain smarts.  This time she messed with someone way brighter than her:

Rush:  You wanna hear some headbutting?  I got a sound bite here.  This is Rumsfeld at the defense budget Armed Services Committee meeting yesterday and he's responding to a question about the number of forces out there.  Loretta Sanchez from California then goes after Rumsfeld.

Rummy:  We're scheduled to have 200,000 in September or October of this year when the elections take place with respect to the Constitution, and the program takes it to 270,000 by June of '06.

Loretta:  The numbers that you banty (sic) around about how many troops we really have out there that are Iraqii police eckcetera eckcetera (sic sic).

Rummy:  You say we "banty" around numbers -- they're not my numbers, I don't invent 'em, they come from General Petraeus (Commander, 101st Airborne).  There's no bandying at all.

Loretta:  I have Petraeus' numbers -- they're different than your numbers by the way.

Rummy:  Well, what's the date?  They are not different if the date's the same.  The date on my paper here is February 14th.  What's yours?

Loretta:  December 20th.

Rummy:  It's not surprising there's a difference.

Rush:  (Laughter).  She's using December 20 documents -- he's got numbers from Valentine's Day -- this week.  (Kiss).  Love you Loretta.  Bring back Bob Dornan -- get somebody qualified from that District, for crying out loud!  That's an embarrassment.  Go up there and take on the Secretary of Defense...

=========================

But then, Loretta has other friends and supporters in high places:

Update:  Grabbed from Alex Coronado's ex-election website, we're now not sure if this undated pic is Fidel Castro, or his brother Raul.  Either way, we hope she showered.  See comments, and check out Fidel Castro has found a friend.

Steve Greenhut on Spitzer's Exit from D.A. Race

Since the Orange Punch blog lacks PermaLinks to the individual posts, I hope the OCR doesn't mind if I re-publish Greenhut's entire post on Spitzer's exit from the D.A.'s race:

Spitzer vs. Rackauckas -- From an observer's point of view, I cannot help but be disappointed that Assemblyman Todd Spitzer withdrew from the DA's race against Tony Rackauckas. But the county might not be spared Spitzer, who might run in 2010. This would have been a knock-down, drag-out race, and there's no question the Republican establishment was fearful that Spitzer would win. Spitzer is quite aggressive -- he has been contacting the Register editorial page for months now building the case against Rackauckas. When I asked Rackauckas for an editorial meeting, he politely obliged, but he clearly wasn't pleased to be defending his position at such an early date. That spelled trouble, and the party knew it. No doubt, the rallying of the troops and the big Rackauckas fund-raiser scared Todd out of the race.    

I completely understand why few office-holders relished the idea of a Spitzer DA office. Todd has many good qualities, but he is a grand-stander. As one critic told me, he is great as long as he is one of several officials, such as on the Board of Supervisors or in the Assembly. But would you want someone of his temperament running a law enforcement office, or to have subpoena powers?

Even though I defended Rackauckas in his run against the Capizzi-redux of Wally Wade, I have been somewhat troubled by how he has run the office. The excuses about being politically tone deaf and about having the old Capizzi crowd still mad at him wear thin after a while. Todd would have been too hot, perhaps bringing back a slew of politically-generated, media-motivated prosecutions, but Rackauckas is too cold. He is sort of the anti-Capizzi, allowing corruption to continue because of his lack of aggressiveness. I still can't figure out why he didn't go after Michael Harris. Compare Rackauckas' attitude toward the church scandals, for instance, to Steve Cooley's in LA.    

Still, it's always better to have a lethargic DA than an overly aggressive one, given the daunting powers of that office. Maybe Republican leadership can start planning now for the right candidate in 2010.    

Posted by Steven Greenhut -- sgreenhut@ocregister.com at 12:48 PM (Feb. 24, 2005)

OC Blog News Roundup -- Feb. 25, 2005

Today's top stories behind the Orange Curtain:

Santa Ana Tower Debated -- OCR
Funny how it is taken for granted in the MSM coverage that people who don't own the property in question have every right to dictate to the property owner how he can use his land.

Santiago Charter Plans For Safety -- OCR
Again -- why couldn't the trustees have taken this common sense step at the very beginning?

Steve Greenhut on Spitzer vs. Rackauckas -- OCR
Greenhut post on Orange Punch from yesterday.

Paring The Costs of Paid Leave -- OCR Editorial
Opining on county efforts to crack down on paid leave.

OC Fire Authority Warns Ambulance Provider -- LAT
Read OC Dutch's post on this for the inside skinny -- off the record, on the Q.T., and very hush-hush.

Dana Parsons: Supervisor Sees Past in Merrill's New Offer -- LAT
Jim Silva ought to hope voters are more forgiving of some of past actions as he seeks the GOP nomination in the 67th Assembly District.

Eileen Padberg's Adventures In Iraq -- OC Weekly
We hope you make it home in one piece, Eileen.

Spitzer Cops Out -- OC Weekly
Updated version on the story R. Scott Moxley posted on Monday.

Fire Authority Fireworks

It's time for a little inside baseball to return to the blog, so let's take our attention to the sleepy Orange County Fire Authority, where regular reporters tread lightly.

Tonight the adults took charge at the OC Fire Authority and decided it probably isn't a good thing when one of its contractors deliberately and defiantly breaches one of their contracts.

Fire Chief Chip Prather was in quite a pickle when ambulance company Medix chose not to abide by its own bid - or the specifications put forward by Chip's crew - and do what it darn-well pleased. Sure, they were empowered to do so. After all, they scored 2nd in all of the rankings, but leap-frogged top-ranked AMR ambulance in picking up contracts throughout the county. Mighty effective lobbyists, those Medix folks have. Maybe you've heard of them - Frank Michelena (the Godfather of the county lobbyists?), Phil Anthony (picking on Phil is no fun, he's too nice a guy), Kate Keena and more???

So what was Chip to do when his own lawyer said Medix was materially breaching their contract? And since the lawyer did what every good lawyer does - give all sides without taking one - Chip decided to take a pass too.

Fortunately, brighter minds on the Board prevailed. In the end they told Chip either Medix complies with their own bid or their fired. Trump would be so proud.

Of course this wasn't without some fireworks. Amazingly there was one candidate for the Board of Supervisors, no less, saying that a reduction in his ambulances in his city was perfectly "satisfactory." (Note to Jim Bieber - go buy the tape!)

Of course, it ain't over til it's over. There are sure to be many more twists to come (hint, hint - MV). And while that may be good for Medix, my guess is that Chip is getting even more nervous as the Sheriff's deputies continue to chronicle this boondoggle in preparation for their battle royale with Joe Kerr and the firemans union.

OC Blog News Roundup -- Feb. 24, 2005

Today's top stories behind the Orange Curtain:

TCA Buys Lot To Keep It Undeveloped -- OCR
As reported in yesterday's LAT, the property owner gets just half the appraised value for his lot across from Cook's Corner. I wonder how all those Trabuco NIMBYs would feel if they had to sell their homes for half their appraised value?

Cook's Corner Water Clean-Up Ordered -- OCR
I guess it will be a smelly bit of open space.

County Re-Financing Plan Attracts Merrill Lynch -- OCR
As reported in yesterday's LAT.

Frank Mickadeit: Oh Todd, We Hardly Knew Ye -- OCR
Frank laments that Todd's departure from race will deprive voters of a real choice, blah, blah.

UPDATE: Jeff Miller: Traffic- Small Fixes, Big Gains -- OCR
An op-ed piece by Corona Councilman Jeff Miller, touting the positive impact that even comparatively minor road/freeway infrastructure projects can have. It was left off by an oversight. Thanks for the prod, Publius.